Are You or Someone You Love Suffering from Bipolar Disorder and Alcoholism?

Self Medication

One
of the reasons people drink is to self medicate. This
is a common term people use to describe the coping skill of escape
through drugs or alcohol.

One could imagine all kinds of scenarios that
might cause a healthy non mentally ill person to self medicate: the
everyday stress of social relationships, work or family life parenting, financial problems. All of these situations may be a
trigger for seeking relief through substances.

People with bipolar
disorder are much more likely to suffer from alcoholism. In fact one
study showed women , in particular, are 7 xs more likely to suffer from alcoholism if
they are bipolar (Allen, 2003).

Stress is more of an issue for those with bipolar, as they are more sensitive to all forms of it.

A person who has bipolar
disorder may constantly feel their life is out of control and too
painful to cope with. Without proper help support and treatment their
life can feel unmanageable. Alcohol gives them the false sense of control and provides a temporary escape from painful intense
emotions. The connection between bipolar disorder and alcoholism can
easily be understood in this way.

Unfortunately, being intoxicated is a false sense of
control, and mood stabilizers prescribed by a physician can do a much
better and safer job of treating the effects of bipolar disorder

Genetic Component

There
is a genetic component that contributes to the relationship between
bipolar disorder and alcoholism that isn’t quite understood. We do know
that there is a very high rate of alcoholism in the families of persons
with bipolar disorder. Many of my clients who are bipolar have a strong
history of alcoholism in their family. Of course there is a genetic
component to both of these illnesses, so it seems that if you are
bipolar you are likely to have someone in the family who was bipolar and
if you are an alcoholic the same is true.

Complications with Diagnosis

The
symptoms of bipolar disorder and alcoholism may look the same. Someone
who is drunk may act manic while under the influence of alcohol.
Depression is also commonly associated with alcohol withdrawal.

Most
mental illness cannot be diagnosed unless the person has had a period
of abstinence where they are not suffering from withdrawal and the
symptoms of illness are present. People suffering from alcoholism also
have dramatic mood swings that can mimic those a person with bipolar
disorder suffers. Often when someone stops drinking or using drugs, they go through a period of withdrawal which may include depression, anxiety ,and mood swings which later levels out. Clearly these two illnesses interact in damaging ways
and exacerbate one another.

The Course of the Illness and the Prognosis may be Worsened

Obviously
if you have bipolar disorder and you are also suffering from alcoholism
your prognosis for stability is not as good. The chemical changes
alcoholism creates in the brain and body interact with the bipolar
disorder in a way that makes it more difficult to treat. Also, the
alcohol itself may alter the course of the illness. The course of an
illness is how it evolves over time. If you have bipolar disorder and
you are drinking, the cycles and severity of the episodes may be altered
and permanently changed.

Alcohol abuse is more common in those who have bipolar than unipolar depression.

People with bipolar disorder are more likely than those with depressive disorders to have alcohol dependence. Some research suggests that this is almost twice as likely in bipolar than with unipolar depression. Additionally, about half of people who suffer from bipolar also have alcoholism. ( 1999).

Medications

Most
studies have suggested that lithium is less effective in a client who
has bipolar disorder and alcoholism. This could be because many of
those clients present with a more rapid cycling -mixed manic bipolar and
that is known to be less responsive to lithium. More often a doctor
will choose Depakote which has actually been shown to decrease patients
drinking
(Allen, 2003) in addition to leveling out the mood. The exception seems
to be adolescents with BPD and alcoholism who, in one study, were shown
to respond to lithium. (Sonne, 2002)

What to do if you suffer from alcoholism and bipolar disorder.

Seek
help from a professional who will coordinate with other treatment
providers. For example, a psychiatrist who will work with a therapist
and substance abuse clinic will be more helpful for someone who has a
dual diagnosis.

Follow up after your treatment with AA and a sponsor

Understand
that you need to stop drinking first prior to getting help for your
bipolar illness. It is impossible to understand what is triggering the
illness if alcohol is in the mix. A large part of managing your illness
consists of understanding your triggers.

Recognize
that in the short term, going without alcohol will be challenging and
painful but over the long haul will result in much better results for
you.

Everything you ever wanted to learn about bipolar disorder across all the different ages by clicking the links below.

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